Passover is the great Jewish family holiday -- but with a critical message about our ethics and values. We eat the Karpas, the green vegetable -- and recall our concern for the environment. We dip into the salt water of tears -- and remind ourselves to care for the oppressed. We eat the bitter herbs -- and sharpen our concern for the stranger. We taste the matzah, the bread of affliction -- and feel the memories of our servitude to Pharaoh. We note the roasted egg, symbolic of the extra offering in the Temple in ancient days -- and ask ourselves what are our own sacrifices?

Passover is so real and tangible, because we not only taste our freedome, but we also resolve to work for the liberation of all people. It is a time to ask ourselves: what are we doing to care for those in need? Can we reach out and assist with our tzedakah, our charitable contributions, or through our acts of loving-kindness?

Let us now take the middle matzah and divide it in half. As we break this matzah and set it aside, we link ourselves symbolically with all Jews throughout the world, especially those who have lived under the heel of the oppressor.

Our Seder meal will not conclude until the missing piece of Matzah is found and returned to the table. The Matzah, when restored, shows the desire of our people to be together as one, at peace. As Jews, we are a people of sacred fragments; we need help from God to bond together in everlasting unity.


haggadah Section: Yachatz